June 4, 2018

Program June 6, 2018

Two legendary African singers passed away in recent days. Kasse Mady Diabate (pictured above), the man Salif Keita called "the greatest singer in Mali," was a direct descendant of the jelis (professional musicians and historians) who served Sundiata Keita when he founded the Malian Empire in 1235. He died on June 1 at age 69.

Singer and soldier Tsehaytu Beraki died at age 79 on May 24, Eritrean Independence Day, in the Netherlands where she was granted political asylum in 1988. Tsehaytu, "The Sunshine Of Eritrea," helped popularize the traditional Tigrigna music of Asmara, a sound that has greatly influenced both Eritrean and Ethiopian music.

This week on Global A Go-Go, you'll hear a whole set of Kasse Mady's work, from his days with L'Orchestre National Badema in the 1970s to his remarkable 2015 final solo album. And from Tsehaytu I'll play a pair of songs, one from the 70s and the other from her Dutch comeback album of 2004; you'll also hear younger musicians working in the azmari tradition.

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GLOBAL A GO-GO'S HOST

... hosts Global A Go-Go, a weekly two-hour world music radio program that originates in the studios of WRIR 97.3 FM Richmond Independent Radio. Bill is also WRIR's Assistant Music Director for World Music.